See Me
by Haikari Archersight
Summary: The boys don’t like each other, but now they have to work together! How are Seto and Joey going to cope! Story on hold till further notice.
1. Part 1

Title: See Me  
  
Author: Haikari Archersight  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Pairing(s): Seto/Joey  
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I don't make any money from this. I don't get enough sleep  
  
Summary: The boys don't like each other, but now they have to work together! How are Seto and Joey going to cope!  
  
Authors Notes: This is the first fanfic I have ever written so please be gentle.  
  
Warnings: None yet  
  
See Me  
  
Part 1  
  
Seto sat at his desk in his mansion, typing code onto his laptop in preparation for the next day's business. He brooded as he worked; a small crease appearing in his forehead as he thought of his most resent defeat at the hands of the Pharaoh. Pharaoh... That was a laugh. How dare he be so smug!? The spirit held no power over anyone; he ruled no one and no land and was certainly no ones God!  
  
Yet... He held everyone's attention; people recognized him.... Respected him. Who respected Seto Kaiba? Moukuba? That was a given, he could do no wrong in his brothers eyes.  
  
The frown got deeper as he realized he could think of no other that respected him. Many people feared him. Just about all of his employees did that was for certain. Others were indifferent to him; he paid them for working for his company and that was it.  
  
With a weary sigh he gave up trying to work and saved the recoded VR game he had been working on. After the battle with the big five everything from the ground up had to be checked for any more "surprises". He was not going to entrust this task to anyone. With a wry snort he reflected on the fact the big five had not only been indifferent to him they had obviously not feared or respected him either.  
  
He glanced at the clock sitting on the corner of his desk and one eyebrow rose in annoyance as it was not even midnight.  
  
Despite popular belief among the masses (The Kaiba Corp. employees anyway) he did need at least six hours of sleep a night to function. Although...lately four seemed to do just as well.  
  
No. He would go to bed and go right to sleep. He would not lie awake and think about his last duel with Yami and he most certainly would not waste his time wishing that someone would respect him. Moukuba respected and needed him and that was all he wanted or needed. The Brothers Kaiba would always look after themselves.  
  
With that thought in mind he readied himself for bed and set his alarm.  
  
The next morning was dawning without a cloud in the sky and promised to be one of the hottest of the summer as one Seto Kaiba made his way through Domino city.  
  
"It's a good thing the Kaiba Corp. headquarters has air conditioning ". Seto mused to himself as he sat in the all leather interior of his limo.  
  
As it was, he expected a number of his employees to call in sick so they could enjoy the beautiful weather. They would be surprised to find themselves without jobs come tomorrow unless they could produce doctor's notes as proof of their "illness". Good weather was not an excuse to slack off.  
  
As they pulled up in front of Kaiba Corp. he pressed the intercom on the armrest of his door. "Wait for me here, I will return at quarter to nine to proceed to school". The icy CEO ordered getting out of the car.  
  
"Yes sir". The elderly driver sounded stiffly professional. Much better than the last one who had wanted to be friends with the young CEO.  
  
The two front lobby secretaries had their heads together giggling and whispering as he strode towards the elevators behind them. He scowled before he could stop himself. Hearing him they both looked up and went pale upon seeing the look on his face. Both stood hurriedly and bowed.  
  
"Good morning Kaiba-san". They chorused in not quite unison.  
  
He favored them with a cold glare as he passed and they quickly busied themselves with the papers in front of them. He glanced back as he entered the elevator only to see them with their heads together again only this time one looked near tears while the other had an expression that Seto was very familiar with having seen it many times before in his young life. He had seen it in the mirror numerous times when he was younger, after his father had "finished" with him. He had seen it on the faces of his opponents on the dueling field... after he had defeated them. The realization almost floored him.  
  
Hate, she hated him. She was not frightened of him; she was not indifferent to him. She hated him.  
  
He was still reeling from that realization almost two hours later on the drive to school. How could she hate him, how could any of them hate him. As a part of him sat at his school desk reviewing the weeks schedule and making changes where appropriate another part of him reviewed the expressions on his employees' faces as they had interacted with him in the past. Now that he knew what to look for he didn't like what he found. He still found fear in many faces but under the indifference of a great many others he saw what he had seen on the secretary's face for that one brief moment. Hate.  
  
Why? He paid them well; they got a generous bonus at Christmas; holidays that were on par with other large corporations, they certainly didn't lack for the best equipment.  
  
He knew that sometimes he could be harsh. Moukuba told him so but he didn't see what was so harsh about firing someone who knew the consequences of turning up late for work or of not finishing a project on time? The extra time it took to complete could mean losing a deal, costing him and Kaiba Corp. money. It was good business. He expected his employees to work to make Kaiba Corp a success. Those that couldn't would have to find other jobs.  
  
He didn't understand.  
  
Seto sat in last period reading a book on advanced bio engineering. He did this not because he had to but solely for his own personal pleasure. School was as always a waste of his time, it wasn't as though they could teach him anything he didn't already know but he had to keep attending if he wanted to keep guardianship of Moukuba. That was one of the main provisos that the court had charged him with after the death of his father. He had to keep Moukuba fed, clothed, and sheltered. That was all easy enough as long as he had Kaiba Corp. Graduating high school was something they had tacked on just to aggravate him, he was sure.  
  
What the courts could not see was the fact that he was more intelligent than all of them combined and with all the extra lessons his father had expected him to learn years ago he already knew all this! At least his generous "donations" to the school kept him from having to do more than tests and final exams. He may be knowledgeable enough to have graduated many times over; but unfortunately for him he had to prove it. Oh well...anything for Moukuba.  
  
A motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Across the schoolroom Yugi and his little group of friends were gathered around discussing the current project that the sensei had handed out at the beginning of class. It had something to do with tracing your family tree.  
  
Part 2  
  
"Oh come on you guys!" Joey had arrived late to class and had missed out on being partnered and now he was the odd one out.  
  
Yugi looked sorry for his friend. "I'm sorry Joey but we were told we had to be in pairs only, no groups of three. Maybe someone else still needs a partner?"  
  
Joey sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know I'll go ask the sensei."  
  
Of course Tristin had to put his two bits in. Reaching up he dragged Joey down to his seated level by the neck and poked him in the nose. "You weren't here at the start of the class so you missed the part where he told us that the whole of this report counted as twenty-five percent of our grade so you'd better find somebody to partner with quick."  
  
Joey slapped his friends' hand away good-naturedly. "Hey lay off you jerk. Wait; did you say twenty-five!? What is he, crazy?" Joey looked shell-shocked.  
  
"No Mr. Wheeler I am not crazy."  
  
"Aurgg!" Joey whirled around to face an amused looking teacher. Mr. Aimsworth had only been teaching a few years but everyone had learned by now that he operated by one simple rule: Treat me with respect and I'll treat you with respect. He also had a wicked sense of humor and judging by the look in his eye Joey was his next target.  
  
"Oh! Ah... what I meant was isn't that a little high? I mean twenty-five come on! That'll make or break some of the kids in this class."  
  
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Judging by your reaction one would think you were one of them. As it happens this was gone over at the beginning of term and no one thought it was a problem then, perhaps you were absent that day?" He went on before Joey could say anything. "There is someone who needs a partner...Seto Kaiba."  
  
Joey gaped at the teacher with a look of horror on his face. "Can't I switch with someone else!? He sputtered out. "Kaiba and I, we don't get along at all! Were mortal enemies! I hate that guy!  
  
Mr. Aimsworth was unsympathetic. He looked over his shoulder as he walked over to Kaiba's desk. "You should have arrived at the beginning of class if you wanted a choice in partners." Kaiba looked up at their approach.  
  
"As it is Mr. Kaiba is also in need of a partner and seeing as he also needs to do this report if he wants to pass this class there had better be no abjection." That last bit was addressed directly to Kaiba as he looked like he was about to explode. The look on his face now wasn't much better; he just looked like he'd swallowed a toad. A vary large extremely slimy toad.  
  
The teacher stopped besides Kaiba's desk with Joey in tow and addressed both of them. "This report is about researching your family trees as far back as you can go. I want to see lines of decent, occupation, how they lived and died and how long they had in between. The report must be written and will be presented orally to the rest of the class." He stopped to survey their expressions. "One more thing...the report you will be doing will be on each other." 


	2. Part 2

Title: See Me – Part 2  
  
Author: Haikari Archersight  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Pairing(s): Seto/Joey  
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I don't make any money from this. I still don't get enough sleep  
  
Summary: The boys don't like each other, but now they have to work together! How are Seto and Joey going to cope!  
  
Authors Notes: This is the first fanfic I have ever written so please be gentle.  
  
Warnings: None yet  
  
Part 3  
  
Joey sat beside his new "partner" and reflected on the fact that life was not fair. Here he sat beside his worst enemy, the bane of his existence and he couldn't even give him a dirty look. They were both so tense and still that almost visible waves of agitation rolled off them. This was making the entire classroom act as if a bomb hade been placed in their midst with a sign on it that read: Danger, will explode if moved, talked to, or asked if it had an eraser.  
  
All this would have been funny if the stakes weren't so high. The blonde duelist steamed over the teacher's harsh lecture after he'd paired them.  
  
Flashback  
  
Mr. Aimsworth paused again but held up a hand to forestall their outraged objections after telling them about what the report would be on.  
  
"Both of you in the hall now." He gestured to the door when they failed to start moving.  
  
"We can have this conversation in front of the entire class if you wish..." He had barely stopped speaking and they were already halfway to the door. The teacher smirked at their backs.  
  
"I didn't think so."  
  
He followed them out into the hall where they were already squaring off ready to do verbal if not physical battle.  
  
"Stop right there! This gentleman is what I would like to speak to you about! Since the two of you met it's been one battle after another and I'm tired of separating you at every turn!" The teacher at this point was fed up with the both of them.  
  
"You will work together on this project together and you will do so without even a hint of aggression. If I see any evidence of fighting between you two I will fail you both!"  
  
Seto did not look worried. "Mr. Aimsworth." He drawled in his most lofty and superior tone of voice. "I seem to recall that with my outstanding marks in all tests I don't need to participate in any projects. This is just another waste of my time."  
  
Joey spoke up with exasperation before the teacher could say anything. "Who am I supposed to do my project on if moneybags here is taking a powder?"  
  
The now irate teacher held up both hands before gesturing angrily with them.  
  
"Neither of you are listening to me, you will work on this together or I will fail you and when I say fail I mean the entire class!  
  
He went on before they could respond to that. "As I recall you both need this class to graduate so I suggest you put some effort into channeling all that aggression into something more productive."  
  
He stood back to motion them back into class. "I'm not going to hear anything more on the subject so get to work, you have one month to complete it and I don't want to even hear a rumor that you've been fighting."  
  
End Flashback  
  
Joey looked sideways at the duelist without the other noticing. The CEO looked calm, nothing showed in his face or posture that might mean he was anything less than composed. The blond knew better though, when the teacher marched them back inside he'd seen the rage in the others blue eyes. Somebody was going to pay and he had a sinking feeling that it was going to be him.  
  
This added a lot of weight to his theory that a law named Murphy was out to get him.  
  
Seto sat at his desk and did something that most people would have thought him incapable of. He was sitting beside Joey Wheeler and said mutt was not on the verge of being beaten. No harsh words, no dirty looks, nothing. He was not even allowed to say anything to Wheeler that the mutt might find offensive. This however was not what was so extraordinary about the situation.  
  
This was not turning out to be a good day; he had to work with a dog, was not allowed treat the second rate duelist as the scum he was and his employees hated him. Seto Kaiba sat at his desk and sulked.  
  
Part 4  
  
When class let out it was as if a massive vacuum had been turned on in the hall, Joey had never seen the place empty so quickly. With a start he realized that Kaiba had left with the rush and they had made no plans to work on the project outside of class. This had been the last class of the day so it was a good bet that he'd catch the jerk if he ran all the way to the parking lot in front.  
  
He caught site of the tall figure just as he was about to duck into his limo. "Kaiba wait up!" He was panting after his mad dash through the halls.  
  
"What do you want Wheeler." he looked like he had to bite his tongue to keep from making a more biting remark obviously conscious of the many students still standing around talking.  
  
Joey was not about to be put off. "We need to decide when where going to work on this project money...Kaiba."  
  
Seto smirked at the small slip, puppy didn't like this either. "That's simple, come to the mansion at six and I'll find out what I need to complete this ridiculous report. Make sure to use the servant's entrance."  
  
"No."  
  
Seto paused before getting in his limo again. He spoke very deliberately to the stubborn looking student. "What was that Wheeler?"  
  
"If we go to your house you'll just treat me like you always do and I won't learn anything for my report now will I?" Joey went on as the bigger students look got darker with each word.  
  
'We should meet at the public library that way there will be lots of students around and we can both work on our projects without...getting upset."  
  
Kaiba stared at him for a moment before biting out an answer. "Fine."  
  
Joey was quick to state a time before the other could leave. "How bout we meet at four though? I gotta be home by six."  
  
Kaiba sneered at him. "A curfew wheeler? I was under the impression you were...... Joey cut him off before the CEO could say anything they would both regret.  
  
"Listen to me!" The blond stepped closer to the brunette in an effort to convey his urgency  
  
"We don't like each other and we don't have to! All I'm asking here is that you show a little courtesy and at least meet me halfway. I wont call you names if you do the same." Hot amber met icy blue in a locked stare.  
  
Finally Joey looked away and there was a small silence.  
  
"We will meet at four then, at the public library." Kaiba's voice sounded as even as ever and before the smaller student could say anything else the limo was pulling away, leaving him standing alone.  
  
Thanks and Chapter notes  
  
Somnia Lustre – Thank you for the review! Yes I did put the Kaiba bit there for a reason and kudos to you for susseing out the fact that (at the moment) it's out of place. All will become clear with time and more chapters.  
  
Misura – Heh, Joey's not so bad Its Kaiba that's the ass.  
  
Santurion1 – My mother went and found out about our own family tree a while back and it's not as hard as you might think. ( It just takes more time in real life than what our boys have got so I'm going to be taking liberties)  
  
Kumori Sakusha formerly Saelbu – Thank you for the review!  
  
AmethystRoze – Here's your update and thanks for your kind words!  
  
The Author takes a bow 


End file.
